1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing device for attaching a wire harness to a vehicle body or a body panel.
2. Related Art
As shown in FIG. 5, there have been fixing devices of this kind. A fixing device 1 comprises an attachment plate 2, a clip 3 standing in the middle of the attachment plate 2, and a pair of stopper protrusions 7 at both ends of the attachment plate 2. A wire harness W is secured to the attachment plate 2 with tape a.
The clip 3 is made up of a supporting pillar 4 and a pair of stopper wings 5. Engaging protrusions 5b to be engaged with a stopper hole 6a of a body panel 6 are provided at the bottom of the stopper wings 5. When the stopper wings 5 are inserted into the stopper hole 6a of the body panel 6 in the direction indicated by arrow A, the engaging protrusions 5b are engaged with the stopper hole 6a so as to prevent the stopper wings 5 from radially expanding, and edge portions 5a of the stopper wings 5 are engaged with the rim of the engaging hole 6a so that the stopper wings 5 can be secured to the body panel 6.
The stopper protrusions 7 have such a height that the upper ends are in contact with the body panel 6, and stand at both ends of the attachment plate 2.
Thus, the clip 3 is inserted into the stopper hole 6a of the body panel 6 so as to support and secure the wire harness W, and the stopper protrusions 7 are brought into contact with the body panel 6 so as to securely hold the fixing device
In recent years, car manufacturers have tried to reduce production costs by reducing the number of components employed in manufacturing a vehicle. For instance, some car components are employed for several purposes.
However, there are some problems with such fixing devices of the prior art. If a wire harness fixing device is produced such that it can be attached to a thin body panel, the stopper protrusions come into contact with thicker portions of the body panel before the stopper wings are engaged with the rim of the stopper hole of the body panel, thereby hindering attachment of the fixing device.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6A, a fixing device 1' is produced such that the stopper wings 5 are engaged with the rim of a stopper hole 6a' of a thick body panel 6A, and that the stopper protrusions 7 are in contact with the body panel 6A. If such fixing device 1' is attached to a thin body panel 6B, as shown in FIG. 6B, there will be a gap h between the body panel 6B and the stopper protrusions 7, causing the fixing device 1' to wobble or rotate around the clip 3.